Day 2 of NA3HL Showcase full of storylines and scouts

Day 2 of NA3HL Showcase full of storylines and scouts

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Trevor Borlace led the College Station Spirit to their first win of the 2018-19 season as they broke out for 9 goals in a win on Day 2 of the NA3HL Showcase.

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) Showcase had its most competitive day on Monday at the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. With over 100+ college and NAHL scouts checking in through Day 2, the action they witnessed was very competitive with some very close games.

This season marks the ninth straight year the NA3HL is holding a league-wide Showcase, which features some of the best junior talent in the United States.

The action continues on Tuesday, December 18th with the final Day 3 of the event with games beginning at 9am.

All the games at the NA3HL Showcase will be broadcast live on HockeyTV.

All NA3HL teams will play three regular-season games at the Showcase, which is annually one of the most well-attended and scouted events of the entire season for the league, attracting college and junior scouts alike. The NA3HL Showcase brings every NA3HL team under one roof, which allows scouts to see all the great talent the league has to offer. Not only does the showcase see a large presence of NCAA scouts but NAHL Central Scouting is also in attendance, furthering the chances for players to earn a call up to the NAHL.

For more details on the 2018 NA3HL Showcase, including ticket, hotel, rental car, scouting and schedule information, visit: na3hl.com/showcase.

Oswego 3 @ Bozeman 2 – Tommy Kilway and Rich Hart struck in the final frame to help the Stampede complete a 3-2 comeback victory over the Icedogs on day two of the NA3HL Showcase in Blaine. Dominic Canic and Sterling Morin provided a pair of second-period tallies for Bozeman, sandwiching Dmitri Christou’s opening marker for Oswego. Colin Burgess earned the win with 14 stops, while Mikael Levokari suffered the loss with a nine-save showing.

Evansville 3 @ Maine 4 – The Wild used a three-goal second period to leap ahead of the Thunderbolts 4-2, then held off Evansville’s late comeback attempt to ultimately win 4-3 on Monday. Jeff Murphy, William Godbout, Luke Church and Chandler Bilodeau lofted Maine to victory, while Nathan Cole, Alec Marshall and Deric Richison helped Evansville put up a steady fight in the contest. Ben Feldman and Nick Vardon combined for a 34-save performance in the Maine cage, while Stephen Friedland kept the Thunderbolts in it with 45 stops.

Eugene 2 @ Cape Cod 4 – Tanner Little and Nevin Davialut potted a goal apiece in the third period to help the Islanders break a 2-2 dead lock and top the Generals 4-2 on Monday. Cole Therrien and Leevi Kervinen found twine as well in Cape Cod’s win, eclipsing Generals goals by Jared Coday and Broc Friesen. Parker Orchard took the win with 25 stops between the Cape Cod pipes, while Carson Roisum faced down 33 for Eugene.

Milwaukee 1 @ Texas 5 – Andrue Trelstad tallied twice to pace a Brahmas blitz as they toppled the Power 5-1 in Blaine on Monday. Seth Cushing, Matej Palfy and Tyler Blanchard netted as well, while Jacob Peterson nabbed the lone goal for Milwaukee. Thomas Held took the win with 24 saves on 25 shots in the Texas crease, outdueling Milwaukee standout Aaron Dickstein, who stopped 30 of 35

St. Louis 4 @ Louisiana 2 – Down 2-1 late in the second period, the Blues rattled off three unanswered tallies in the final 23 minutes, dropping the Drillers 4-2 on Monday. Ivan Galaguzov, Sean Hofstetter, Jacob Wiethaupt and Tom Yurisich provided the attack, while Zach Smith and Grant Griffin lit the lamp for Louisiana. Both goaltenders stood tall; St. Louis’ Jack Regan earned the win with 35 stops, while Griffin Varricchio turned aside 30 in the Drillers’ cage.

New Ulm 3 @ NAPHL Selects 2 – Carson Sandwick played hero for the Steel, bagging the game-winning goal just under a minute after the Selects potted a tying effort to help New Ulm stay perfect in Showcase play with a 3-2 decision over the NAPHL team. Keegan Bauman and Jacob Halvorson helped the Steel build up a 2-0 advantage through 40, before Nikolas Campbell and Peter Hannula erased the deficit and leveled scores for the Selects just before Sandwick’s winner. Henry Baribeau stood tall in the Steel cage with 26 saves, while Noah Altman and Luke Newell combined for 35 saves for the NAPHL.

Wausau 1 @ Long Beach 0 – Tanner Eskro’s strike at 11:53 of the middle frame stood as the game-winner thanks to 35 saves by Wausau’s Alexandr Gilev between the pipes as the Riverwolves scraped past the Sharks 1-0 on Monday. Darren Nathan was a rock in goal for Long Beach as well, facing down 37 pucks — including 18 in the first period alone.

Peoria 4 @ Mid-Cities 2 – The Mustangs moved to 2-0 at the Showcase thanks to a 4-2 win as forward Austin Keil continued his hot play with two more goals. After a scoreless 1st period, the Msutangs opened the scoring in the 2nd period as Jack Radley netted his 21st goal of the season. The Jr. Stars bounced back with goals from Josh Linn and Brandon Speights to take a 2-1 lead into the 2nd intermission. In the 3rd period, the Mustangs scored three times, including two goals from Keil and another from Jaycob Bland to win 4-2. Jaden Gardner picked up the win in goal, making 23 saves, while Noah Kinsinger took the loss with 22 saves.

Rochester 4 @ New England 1 – The Grizzlies moved their wining streak to four straight games and 2-0 at the Showcase with a 4-1 win over the Stars. Vladislav Sorokin was the star of the game with a hat-trick for the Grizzlies. It took almost two full periods for someone to get on the board, but Sorokin scored late in the 2nd period to put Rochester ahead 1-0. The Stars tied the game briefly at 1-1 midway through the 3rd period on a goal from Connor Barter, but it was short-lived as Sorokin would add two more goals later in the 3rd period and Bryar Flanders added an insurance goal to make the final score 4-1. Grizzlies goalie Nick Bucklin made 20 saves in the win, while Matthew Marini made 27 saves in the loss.

Skylands 1 @ Great Falls 2 (SO) – It took a 14-man shootout, but the Great Falls Americans finally won the extra point as they edged the Skylands Kings, 2-1. In regulation, the Americans took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period with a goal from Brandon Peterson. Skylands would answer in the 3rd period to tie the game at 1-1 thanks to a power play goal from Trevor Christopher. After a scoreless overtime, Americans goalie Viktor Wennberg stopped all seven Kings shooters in the shootout, while George Nuutinen netted the shootout winner for Great Falls. Kings goalie Kavan Johnson made 40 saves in the loss.

North Iowa 5 @ Northeast 1 – The Bulls moved to 2-0 at the Showcase with another convincing win, this time a 5-1 victory over the Generals. Five different players scored for the Bulls, which included 1st period goals from Harrison Stewart and Justin Callahan. Two more goals in the 2nd period from Jarod Blackowiak and Matt Dahlseide, and a 3rd period goal from Brendan Studioso. The lone Generals goal came with just a few minutes remaining in regulation as Koyle Bankauskas netted his 23rd goal of the season. Bulls goalie Dysen Skinner made 24 saves in the win, while Generals goalie Jeb Barrett made 34 saves in the loss.

Breezy Point 4 @ Yellowstone 2 – The North Stars jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 4-2 win over the Quake as Breezy Point moved to 2-0 at the Showcase. Carson Simon and Lukas Brockman scored 1st period goals to put the North Stars ahead 2-0. The Quake cut into the lead to make it 2-1 as Dylan Rumpke scored in the 2nd period, but Breezy Point would regain their two-goal edge later in the period with a goal from Cooper Hoheisel. The Quake would again cut the lead to one goal late in the 3rd period on Rumpke’s second of the night, but Braeden Zaste added the insurance goal the North Stars would need in the 4-2 win. Lane Fox made 7 saves in the win, while Michael Allman made 40 saves in the loss.

Willmar 2 @ Butte 1 (OT) – In a goaltending battle, the Willmar WarHawks came out on top in extra time to edge the Butte Cobras, 2-1. Butte was led by goaltender Karl Zodda, who made 46 saves in the overtime loss. Butte led 1-0 after a 1st period goal from Ben Dirks. Willmar tied the game in the 2nd period with a goal from Ian Zaleski. In the overtime period, a one-timer from Campbell Jackson would prove to be the game-winner. WarHawks goalie Jake Sumner made 7 saves in the win.

Binghamton 3 @ Helena 5 – Five different players lit the lamp as the Frontier Division-leading Helena Bighorns picked up their first win of the Showcase, beating the Binghamton Junior Senators, 5-3. The Bighorns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Ricards Groskops and Henry Kipper. Binghamton stormed back with three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead early in the 3rd period thanks to two goals from Thomas Liebold and another from Zach Bell. However, the Bighorns scored three unanswered goals later in the 3rd period to secure the win, which included goals from Elliot Plourde, Justin Sullivan, and Luc Cross. Eric Berglund made 16 saves in the win, while Thomas Sullivan made 15 saves in the loss.

Alexandria 4 @ Missoula 1 – Kyle Hayden made 16 saves to lead the Blizzard to their first win of the NA3HL Showcase with a 4-1 triumph over Missoula. The Jr. Bruins were the first to get on the board as early in the 1st period Misha Akatnov recorded his 34th goal of the season. After that it was all Blizzard as Alexandria would answer back twice in the late stages of the 1st period to take a 2-1 lead to the lockerroom with goals from Dylan Mattson and Brett Meister. Tanner Frerichs would score in the 2nd period to make it 3-1 and Carter Rieland would add a 3rd period goal to make the final 4-1. Jr. Bruins goalie Evan Williams made 43 saves in the loss.

Niagara Falls 2 @ College Station 9 – It was an offensive catharsis for the Spirit, who logged their first win of the season in a 9-2 romp past the Powerhawks thanks to goals from seven different skaters. Trevor Borlace and Garrett Schnorr set the pace with two goals apiece, with Matt McBride, Daniel Mandelbaum, Jared Slay, Logan Maki and Jack Giddings lighting the lamp as well. Brandon Fehlig also starred for the Spirit with three helpers on the night. The Powerhawks featured goals by Adam Morgan and Mateo Mercado, alongside a combined 21 saves from Jonathan Sebastiano and Noah Spiesz. Gio Podalinski took the win for College Station with 16 saves between the pipes.

Granite City 2 @ L/A 1 – A battle of two NA3HL heavyweights lived up to its billing, as the perennial power Lumberjacks topped the surging Nordiques 2-1 on Monday night. Zack DeBoom netted Granite City’s game-winner late in the second period, after his teammate Ryan Pogue and L/A’s Zack Mullen traded first-period tallies. Both netminders were solid between the pipes, with Granite City’s David Mulligan earning the win with 20 saves and L/A’s Daniel Miller turning aside 37 in the loss.

Wisconsin 4 @ Gillette 2 – Tyler and Jacob Kaminski put the Wild ahead early, but the Whalers rattled off four unanswered to ultimately take a 4-2 win as day two of the NA3HL Showcase came to a close. Tanner Mros, Luke Hefty, Austin Burgener and Justin Schwartzmiller each found twine for Wisconsin, as Kai Tomita picked up the win with 24 saves. Gillette’s Shane Phillips turned aside 30 pucks in the loss.